Solve real world problems with Java using multiple classes. Learn how to create programming solutions that scale using Java interfaces. Recognize that software engineering is more than writing code - it also involves logical thinking and design. By the end of this course you will have written a program that analyzes and sorts earthquake data, and developed a predictive text generator.
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Use sorting appropriately in solving problems;
2. Develop classes that implement the Comparable interface;
3. Use timing data to analyze empirical performance;
4. Break problems into multiple classes, each with their own methods;
5. Determine if a class from the Java API can be used in solving a particular problem;
6. Implement programming solutions using multiple approaches and recognize tradeoffs;
7. Use object-oriented concepts including interfaces and abstract classes when developing programs;
8. Appropriately hide implementation decisions so they are not visible in public methods; and
9. Recognize the limitations of algorithms and Java programs in solving problems.
10. Recognize standard Java classes and idioms including exception-handling, static methods, java.net, and java.io packages.

From the lesson

Earthquakes: Sorting Algorithms

In this module, you will continue using real earthquake data to explore several sorting algorithms. You will learn how to implement a selection sort and a bubble sort, then be introduced to a Java method Collections.sort, which sorts with much greater efficiency. By the end of this module, you will be able to (1) implement several sorting algorithms from scratch, (2) use efficient pre-existing sorting classes, (3) modify a class’s compareTo method to choose the criteria by which objects of that type are ordered, and (4) write classes that implement the Comparator interface to create interchangeable sorting criteria.